(On the Hunt) Legwork

Jun 26th, 2018 08:17 PM

"Thanks for coming," Lina said to Rebecca, letting her busy herself looking at the leads on the blackboard. As the old Ventrue went to work plumbing her contacts and Clara arrived, she waved at her cousin.

"What you are looking at here are pieces of what I suspect are a much larger puzzle, cousin. There are Hunters in this city, and it is essential that we ferret them out. Some of these things are likely related; other pieces are dangers in our path. I'm hoping that you can help me to fill in more of the bigger picture. The more pieces of the puzzle we put together on the board, the better our hope of determining who is hunting us, why that is happening, and how to resolve the problem before we all get dragged into the sun."

She smiled flatly. Getting dragged into the sun was a terrifying and very real prospect.

"So, I guess as a first step I'm wondering if you have any information about Hunters in the city, or any connections you could use to help us figure this out."

**Aaron van Valen** · Jun 27th, 2018 06:45 AM

Aaron is a bit later to arrive. He was actually in the middle of some of his own research. But nothing that couldn't wait. He much rather helps his fellow Dragon. As soon as he arrives in Nox, he just catches Lina talking to Rebecca and the enticing Daeva he recognized from Court.

'Good evening everyone.'

He looks around and checks the whiteboard. It seems like Lina was indeed a pretty proficient investigator. There were already several names there, a useful start to any investigation. Mentions of underground orgies, cause why not. And...

'The alligator, again? Last time we heard rumors of a crocodile.' The Lord did not like the sound of that. 'At the moment I have no connections that could lead to more information directly, I'm afraid. Perhaps I can assists with looking stuff up online.'

His qualities are probably better suited for once they're out there, with face-to-face interaction. So he waits for a moment to see what his allies have come up with.

**Yumyumcrow** · Jun 27th, 2018 11:06 PM

Twist sets off!

Chasing down rumours is fun... When one has the time for it. And when one can appreciate the variety of clubbing experience out there, in the city. Twist can - and does - go anywhere, as she puts rumour and innuendo together to create something approaching fact.

Jed and Moretti are her first targets: a lean man with a bushy moustache; a heavy set man in a bandana. Too many strange questions. And Moretti has a past which colours the perceptions of those who know of it. Moretti is a dangerous firebrand.

From Jed and Moretti, conversation turns to Ronnie G, a petty hustler who now holds court in a run down bar in North Sacramento with a bunch of crazy conspiracy theorists.

Talking of conspiracy theorists - there is a new street preacher from Elk Grove way. He's a good man doing charity work for the poor of the city but the street knows. The street feels. There is something bad about this man. Something off with him and his followers. He got no church but they meet in fields, and in houses, and in squats.

Twist alo overhears something else - that a reporter known for his work among conspiracy nuts is back in town. Pico. Apparently he is working with a damsel in distress...

Doctor Simmons tries a different approach, tracking down what she can of the drug scene.
* Bruce Harcourt and his cronies have muscled in on the party set through sheer volume and exuberance. Apparently they have connected with a group of ex-students who have become something of the party drug doyens of the city's university campuses. Brucie and his new associates are making their own...

*Bruce and his cronies are well connected; well connected enough to cover their tracks. Doesn't mean the rank and file among the Police and other Emergency Services don't have well grounded suspicions; doesn't mean they don't know what goes on. There is still a body in the morgue; unclaimed - the youth is a total John Doe and died of asphyxiation (though he probably wouldn't have lasted the night given what was in his system). The youth was fished out of the tunnels under Old Sacramento. Someone had been having a party - guess who? But no one can prove it.

*And the Strike Team? As far as City Hall knows it has been a decades old initiative - mostly kept on the back burner. Occasionally, it gets extra funding, and dusted off to keep the criminal element in its place. Just like today.

Clara focusses her time on something else. Tribulation Militia. She doesn't find much: and old article about a group of backwoods misfits who burned down an old institution. They called themselves a Tribulation Militia and argued that the old building was haunted by demons - which did not endear them to the prosecuting judge.

Funny thing is, they used a symbol very similar to the one she had seen in Elk Grove.

A symbol that has been appearing not just in Sacramento, but a number of towns in the California Central Valley region recently.

Jun 27th, 2018 11:44 PM

Davis had enjoyed some peaceful evenings as of late. The hunter encounter not included. Things had calmed down so to speak for him among the other kindred in the city. He had yet run into the Prince or the Duchess. He knew it would be a matter of time. Until then he figured he would continue to make his stake in Old Sacramento.

The Underground was new for him and he liked it. It was convenient for protecting against the daylight. It was convenient for other things too. He would spend some time mapping the tunnels, some of which had been cleaned up for tours, others boarded up for use by businesses above. Others sealed because they were believed haunted or worse.

Tonight seemed like a good night to explore an unmapped section. Perhaps I will find Miss Weiss or some other member of her clan. He thought as he made meticulous note of each passageway and room.

1 success

Didn't know if Heightened Senses added to the roll or not, so I excluded it.

Jun 28th, 2018 09:49 AM

Rebecca nodded her head to Lina's response as she went to calling her contacts. She caught some of what the bitter Daeva was telling Clara before the phone connected.

Rebecca found herself listening very closely to every piece of information she received. As the last call finished she made her way over to Lina and her whiteboard. It would be rude to just add the information in a haphazard way, so she decided to just tell her what Rebecca knew and let Lina organize as she saw fit. Might even help make connections Rebecca couldn't see yet.

"So I'm not sure how helpful this is, but here's what I've found out: I got confirmation that Bruce Harcourt has a penchant for large, extravagant parties, which makes sense for a former pornographer. Seems he's connected to some ex-students who made a name for themselves as the prominent drug suppliers for the college campuses. Not sure if they're also making their own new drugs or just expanding their control, but it sounds like the two groups are working together. They've also got connections that are keeping them under the radar." It would seem Rebecca had found her business rivals. The city would need a new supplier, once the group was taken care of.

"Now in the morgue is a unknown male victim, young, died of asphyxiation with large quantities, possibly overdose level, of drugs in his system. His body was found in the tunnels under Old Sacramento. Rumor has it there was a party down there too, so might be worth looking into."

"In regards to the Strike Team the initiative's been there for decades and they only get extra funding every so often. Unfortunately I don't know who is throwing the funding their way and using them to 'keep the criminal element down.' Maybe someone using them as their own personal attack dog?"

Rebecca wasn't sure how helpful the information would be, but the more the better. Confirmation also helped weed out bad tips as well.

**Twist** · Jun 29th, 2018 04:31 AM

Wandering down past the upstairs club, Twist had it in her head to see if Ale was in her office. She felt fairly confident in her investigating, but she wasn’t so cocky as to think she has nailed it down on her first go. So she wanted to get some feedback, advice, etc.

Surprisingly, though Elysium wasn’t empty. While it wasn’t court, the press of Beasts greeted her as she moved in. Thankfully, already prepping for Alessandra, hers was quickly restrained.

Letting her footfalls make noise, she approached the small group. No need to be rude after all.

”Good evening ...” she greets pleasantly enough. Her eyes scan over the group, mostly those she only had passing introductions with before moving to the white board.

The quantity of words was large but one of them, a name, stood out to her. ”Ronnie G...” she reads stepping past them to tap just below the written name. Turning back to the group she gives a sharp smile, ”What have I stumbled into?”

She asks with the hope that she already knows the answer. That she isn’t the only to have caught rumors and hints strong enough to warrant some work.

Jun 29th, 2018 12:24 PM

"Well, if one person can use them as an attack dog, potentially, so can we. Our problem isn't crime. Our problem is Hunters. I expect that some of these leads will go nowhere, and that some of them will be relevant," Lina said idly, chewing over Rebecca's words. "Harcourt strikes me as important, one way or another. It probably wouldn't be too hard to get invitations for a couple of undercovers to one of his, umm... soirees."

Moretti looked up as the sounds of footsteps echoed toward them. "Archon Twist," she greeted her, turning the whiteboard to let her see it when she looked. Moretti gave a little 'ah!' as Twist spoke.

"A brainstorming session, ma'am. There's a Hunter problem in town, and I'm trying to put together the pieces so we've as much of the story as we can. I figured I'd submit the final data to the Court, so the officers can decide where best to apply investigators or force."

**Clara E. Verne** · Jun 29th, 2018 02:22 PM

Hunters, hunters, hunters. Each mention of the word had Clara's face darken. Simmons mentioning the Strike Team had the Bacchante rub at the back of her neck. She had to collect her thoughts while the others spoke. Once there was a lull in the conversation, she started thinking out loud. "Nothing I'd call a good lead. Went out recently to look into rumors, found some trigger-happy locals who blow a hole in our cousin," she said with a motion to Davis. "And talked about a cult. The Tribulation Militia. I was about to write them off, but it looks like some kids went to juvy for burning down a building. Claimed it was haunted by demons." She handed her phone with the article to Lina.

Clara was staring at the whiteboard now. The woman who had been a Gardien de la paix with a penchant for mysteries wanted to connect the dots. That was another life. Even so, letting this go without knowing would be next to the most frustrating thing imaginable. She took a spare note and drew the symbol she found at the scene. "This symbol. It appeared the night those two shot at us. And it's what those kids used, too, when they burned down the building. A cult...and not one of the fun ones that are devoted to us." She placed it on the Whiteboard. "Look familiar to anyone?"

Jun 30th, 2018 08:45 PM

Rebecca had one flaw she struggled with at times. She could become far too focused. Obsessive. When Lina had set that text Rebecca's mind had become one-track to the point that she even ignored her Catalyst. But that time ignoring it only made its cries for Lina's blood, or the screams to flee from Clara and Aaron that much stronger and harder to resist. The only one she could appreciate at that moment was Duchess Twist who kept her beast hidden thankfully. She took the time listening to them talk to compose herself on the inside, though none of the Kindred around her would know her internal struggle.

Having finally composed herself she bowed her head respectfully to Twist. "Duchess Twist." She then turned and addressed the rest in turn. "Priscus van Valen. Ms. Verne. Good to see you."

They all passed on information and Rebecca did her best to consolidate what she took from it. "Yes Ms. Moretti, I think you're right. Harcourt seems to be pretty important, and I like the idea of trying to infiltrate one of these parties. I wonder though," she said, turning back towards Twist and Clara, "do you think he has any connection to this cult, The Tribulation Militia? This symbol could be something worth looking for at one of Harcourt's parties, as well as Ronnie G. And It can't be a coincidence that Harcourt is connected to ex-students and this symbol was left at a building burned by kids."

**Yumyumcrow** · Jul 2nd, 2018 03:32 AM

Clara E. Verne Riks draws a symbol that could be described as a ball of fire, or perhaps a very crude rendering of a phoenix rising from the flames. It is no indictment of Clara's abilities as an artist - it is the symbol itself that is... off... perhaps deliberately so.

As for John Davis JonReeves - the Daeva explorer discovers a hidden stretch of tunnels that had been co-opted as the site of a party. Perhaps several. Drink cans, tossed garments, and other oddments litter the ground; hidden away there is a generator and some lighting equipment (not just electrical, there are some torches and oil lamps as well). Carpets and futons, large bean bags and divans form a rough oval through the space. Whoever made the space looks like they will return.

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-06-27 23:43:34		John Davis rolls 5 to Perception of the Underground (Wits 2 + Composure 3) (10 Again)		2, 7, 2, 4, 9		1 success

(On the Hunt) Legwork

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